As books begin to open on a new academic year in America's more than 16,000 school districts, educators, students and parents have two high-profile court battles to reflect upon as history-making and significant for the future.
The Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network ( GLSEN ) called the week leading up to Labor Day a landmark, with legal rulings that will positively shape the future of the protection of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender ( LGBT ) people in schools.
On Aug. 27, San Leandro California High School English teacher Karl Debro ended a more than four-year battle with his school district, settling his civil-rights claim for $1,155,000. In February 1999, Debro filed a complaint as a result of being reprimanded for discussing "controversial" subjects in his classroom, including racism and homophobia. On Aug. 8, a jury awarded Debro $500,000 in emotional stress damages. The additional $1.5 million award last week will cover legal fees and case costs, and includes more than $600,000 in punitive damages because the district's superintendent, Thomas Himmelberg, was found to have engaged in "oppression, malice, or fraud."
On Aug. 28, a gay student who sued school officials in Reno, Nev., for failing to protect him from anti-LGBT bias and harassment accepted a $451,000 pre-trial settlement, the largest of its kind in history.
After years of harassment and being moved to successive high schools, Derek Henkle fought back with a lawsuit that has raised the awareness of anti-LGBT bias in schools and made administrators take notice of the risks involved in turning a blind eye to student discrimination.
Henkle turned to Lambda Legal Defense and Education Fund to work on his case.
"The courts have determined that schools are responsible to protect students' safety and to protect the rights of teachers trying to make schools safe," said GLSEN Public Policy Director MK Cullen. "Together, these decisions set the bar very high for school administrators to be held accountable for safety of all students."
GLSEN's 2001 National School Climate Survey found that 4 out of 5 LGBT students hear homophobic remarks like "faggot" or "dyke," while faculty or staff "never or only sometimes" intervene.
"This is a small step for me, but it's a much bigger step for the gay kids in Reno," said Henkle, 21, who has since moved to San Francisco and plans to use part of the money for public education, AP reported. "My experience might sound extreme, but it's a daily reality for kids across the country."